1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for providing a packet service in a mobile communication system, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for reducing the amount of time required to establish a packet communication in a mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of communication technologies, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile communication system has evolved from a conventional voice communication system into a packet communication system capable of transmitting a large amount of data (e.g., voice data, packet data, and circuit data), and into a multimedia broadcast/communication system capable of transmitting multimedia data.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional asynchronous mobile communication network supporting a packet service.
Referring to FIG. 1, a user equipment (UE) (a mobile communication terminal) 130 is equipped with hardware or software for packet communication and thus can receive packet data. A UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) is used to connect the UE 130 to a core network 100. The UTRAN includes a plurality of radio access stations (RASs) 110 and 120. The RAS 110 includes a radio network controller (RNC) 111 and a plurality of Node Bs 113 and 115 controlled by the RNC 111. Likewise, the RAS 120 includes an RNC 112 and a plurality of Node Bs 114 and 116 controlled by the RNC 112. In addition, a plurality of cells are located in each of the Node Bs 113 to 116.
The RNC 111 controls not only the Node Bs 113 and 115 but also the cells in the Node Bs 113 and 115. Likewise, the RNC 112 controls not only the Node Bs 114 and 116 but also the cells in the Node Bs 114 and 116.
The total number of Node Bs controlled by each of the RNCs and the total number of the cells in each of the Node Bs are determined depending on service providers and the performances of the corresponding RNC and the corresponding Node B.
The UE 130 must connect via the UTRAN to the core network 100 in order to receive a packet service. Therefore, a user of the UE 130 is inconvenienced because he/she must wait for completion of the connection for the packet service.